The year 2009 was marked by the release of the updated processor architecture Lynnfield, the most affordable representative of which at that time was the “Cor i5-750” chip. The characteristics of this semiconductor product are not so different from the modern quad-core CPUs of this manufacturer. Therefore, this processor still continues to be relevant and allows you to solve most of various tasks at the moment.
The niche of the processor market that the hero of this review was oriented to
With the release of the LGA1156 platform, Intel divided the microprocessor market into the following segments:
Entry-level PCs were based on Celeron processors (these chips provided a minimum level of performance sufficient for office computers) and Pentium (in this case, you could even count on the launch of some new toys with minimal settings, but such a system unit could only be called a game with a stretch ) The difference between the two products was to increase the cache size and increase the clock speed of the processor, and this made it possible to get additional performance percentages in practice.
The mid-level segment was occupied by chips of the i3 and i5 families. It was to this group of CPUs that the processor solution considered within this material belonged. The younger i3 models included only 2 physical blocks of program code processing. But due to the introduction of HT proprietary technology, this semiconductor chip at the software level could already process information in 4 streams. But i5 were full-fledged processors with 4 physical cores. They also increased cache memory and introduced support for TurboBoost technology. The latter made it possible to adjust the frequency of the CPU depending on the degree of optimization of the program code for multithreading, the thermal state of the semiconductor crystal, and the level of complexity of the problem being solved.
The most productive system units both then and now are based on the i7 family of chips. They have 4 physical blocks of code processing, but NT technology support allows you to get 8 threads at the software level. Also, the frequency formula in this case is increased, as well as the cache memory.
Although formally the hero of this review refers to middle-class processor products, nevertheless, among almost all the software existing at that time, it was he who could easily compete with the flagship microprocessor. Most software even now focuses on the use of 4 physical cores, and for this reason there is currently no big difference in terms of performance between the senior CPUs of this manufacturer.
Contents of delivery
This product was sold in two configurations. The more modest of them was called TRAY. In this case, in addition to the CPU itself, an instruction manual, a warranty card and a sticker with the name of the chip model for the front panel were purchased. Such equipment is aimed, first of all, at large assemblers of system units, but also it was sometimes acquired by computer enthusiasts. The second configuration option for this processor product was called BOX. In common people, the name "boxed version" was assigned to him. In this case, the delivery list was supplemented by cooler and thermal grease.
CPU socket
On installation in the socket LGA1156 was oriented "Cor i5-750." The characteristics of this processor socket indicated that it was oriented towards the assembly of single-chip system units. This socket made it possible in 2009 to organize completely different computing systems by purpose and cost. This computer platform remained valid until 2011, when LGA1155 replaced it. But even now, the products of this series continue to be relevant for at least one reason that the level of their speed can still solve most problems.
Semiconductor chip manufacturing technology
According to a typical technology, at the beginning of 2009, the Cor i5-750 was produced. The characteristics of this entire generation of chips indicate that they were all manufactured using 45nm process technology. It was perfectly worked out at that time and in this case there were no significant problems with the yield of suitable silicon wafers. In the future, he was replaced by technology with a tolerance of 32 nm.
Cache
Like all modern most advanced processor products, the Intel i5-750 has a three-level cache. The characteristics of this semiconductor product in this case are as follows:
The first level included 4 segments of 64 KB, tied to a specific computing module.
Similarly organized 4 blocks of 256 KB at the second level.
Cache on the third level was common to all CPU resources and had a total size of 8 MB.
RAM
The RAM subsystem was substantially redesigned in solutions based on LGA1156, including the Core i5-750. The characteristics of this product indicated that the north bridge along with the RAM controller was transferred from the motherboard to the semiconductor chip of the central processor. This allowed to significantly increase the speed of RAM. But, on the other hand, the integration of the RAM controller led to the fact that the chip could function only with a certain list of RAM slots. In this case, this set was limited to DDR3-1066. Also, in combination with this CPU, it was possible to use faster RAM cards, but their frequency was limited to only one value - 1066 MHz. It was impossible to get anything more in this case.
Temperature Range. Thermal pack
The i5-750 processor was designed for a 95 W thermal package. The characteristics of this model of the central processor indicate the maximum allowable temperature value of 72 degrees. In the usual mode, the temperature regime of this chip was limited to 40-50 degrees. In the case of acceleration, this range increased and was already in the range of 50-60 degrees. In practice, loading this CPU in the nominal operating range so that it reaches the maximum possible value is not possible. It was possible to go beyond the established boundaries only in two cases. One of them is a breakdown of the cooling system, and the second is overclocking the chip in combination with a complete cooler and launching several resource-intensive applications on a PC.
Frequencies
At 2.7 GHz, the initial frequency for the Intel Core i5-750 was set. Characteristics this CPU pointed to TurboBoost technology support. That is, this processor could adjust the frequency value and the number of active blocks of calculations. When using all four blocks, the maximum frequency value was limited to 2.8 GHz. If the processor functioned in dual-threaded mode, then the frequency value was 2.93 GHz. Well, in the case when only one unit of computing was working, this value could generally increase to 3.2 GHz. There was also the possibility of overclocking this CPU. As experience shows, with the proper configuration of the system unit, it was possible to overclock this processor to 4 GHz and thereby obtain almost 30% performance increase.
CPU architecture
As noted earlier, 4 physical software code processing modules included the Intel Core i5-750. The characteristics of this product indicated that it lacked support for HyperTrading technology. Therefore, at the software level, it was represented by the same 4 threads. And this value even today continues to be relevant due to the fact that most of the software is optimized for a maximum of 2 or 4 threads. In this case, the difference with the more expensive CPUs of the i7 family was practically not felt.
Opinion of the owners. Price
At $ 213, this modification of the Core i5 was priced. The CPU 750 (its characteristics were really excellent as for 2009) made it possible to solve any problems. And even now, this CPU can easily cope with almost all the loads. Only the freshest toys can cause problems. But in this case, you can lower the quality of the displayed image, which will allow you to fully immerse yourself in excellent gameplay.
Summary
A worthy processor product for 2009 was the Cor i5-750. Its characteristics continue to this day to be relevant and still allow you to solve most problems. Also, the advantages of this CPU model require an affordable cost, the presence of four physical code processing units and excellent energy efficiency, as for the 2009 chip. But still, the owners of such system units will very soon have to think about the planned update of their computing system.